Roadking

I had the tool but was using it incorrectly for years. ☹️

I would hold the plank and press down on it with the tool. It would eventually bend, but took a while.

When i found the video I tried it and was amazed at how it performed. 

Glad it helped others too.

Absolutely amazing!!! Great job. I know that this took time, patience, skill and perseverance. You had it all. My hats off to you.

I'm completely in awe of your work. Amazing job! You should be very proud to be able to do such a wonderful job. That thing needs to be displayed to be admired by all. 

Beautiful and amazing work. I'm in awe. 

Hey EJ_L (and several others on this site),

Should I be thanking you or cursing you?

Last week I worked on my rigging. I thought it looked pretty good, but after looking at some of these build logs I ripped it all out today and am starting over. 

I'm working on my first build and my attitude is changing as I work. Things aren't "good enough" any more. 

Youre all driving me crazy with the quality of your work. 

Unbelievable!!!  I'm blown away by the quality of your workmanship. I'm currently working on my first ship and am learning but I'm not sure I'll ever get to that level. You've set a high bar. 

Do you plan on putting her on a shelf or in a display case?

Wow! That's an intense amount of work but certainly paid off. Quality workmanship. 

Excellent!  You've done an amazing job. Thanks for posting the photos. 

Beautiful work. Great display piece.

Welcome from a fellow North Carolinian.

Hi Sailorross. Thanks for the compliments. I love retirement   Gives me the time to work on my hobbies. I started the Sirene about 5 years ago and only got half way through the hull before I put it away. Work kept getting in the way. In December I took it out and have been working on it since.

Your Unicorn is looking good. It seems that many of the Corel kits are of very similar design. Regarding the keel and staining, I used 2 products on the entire ship.

The Formby's on everything. Easy to apply with some cheese cloth hand rubbed in. A couple of coats. I did the edges of the keel I used the Watco. It's got a very slight tint, but enough to darken just a bit. Same application method. 

I also used the Watco on the yardarms (you can see them in the background). The masts stay light (Formby's) and the yardarms are a shade darker. I need to give them a couple more coats.

Good luck with the Unicorn and keep in touch. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Masts complete, yards stained ready to go. Fromere here on out I'm gonna need a magnifying glass.

Making progress! 

Time for some masting.

WOW! Beautifully done. Display her with pride.

Making progress ! ! !

Starting second deck. The kit was short some material so I had to improvise on the handrail supports. I actually think they look better than what was supposed to be there.

You gave me an idea. With today's LED technology a couple of small lights might be built into the lower decks. Maybe on my next one.

I was also thinking of putting in a small piece of paper with my name and info built into the hull. Some day, maybe 100 years from now someone will accidentally or on purpose break the ship and find it. Who knows.

Making progress. 

• Cannons are not glued down yet. I just put them in place to see how they look. I may put on the block & tackle (not sure if that's what it's called) on the cannons that will show.
• Next step is to put on the upper deck, which will pretty much cover most of the lower deck shown here.
• I also tried to "weather" the lower decking because it looked too clean, like brand new wood, and not very authentic in my opinion.
• I put it on the stand that came with the kit. The flay stand plate was badly warped. I thought I had it fixed but over time it warped again. I'll figure out later what to do about it but in the meantime I can use it to work on the model.
• The instructions kept referring to "Table 2" but there was no table 2 in the kit, so I sent a note to Corel. They answered the same day and said they were mailing it to me. Great service! I was very impressed. Not sure how long it take to get here (USA) from Italy but I'm hoping that when I receive it I "guessed" correctly when I got to those points. 
• As always, if anyone has a suggestion for improvement or constructive criticism it is always appreciated. My first build and still learning. 

Here is my hull almost completed. 

As you can see, I have a bit more finishing work. I gave her one coat of tung oil and some imperfections came out and some residual glue spots, but I think I can fix all of that.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I'm looking forward to completing the hull.

Some progress! I have been under the impression that it was a no-no to go less than 1/2 width of a board. I think I may have to place a few planks that come to a point to fill in the center.

Yea. I know my build will not be technically correct anyway so I think filling it in is my option. I noticed in your log that special attention was payed to lanterns and cannons and some mentioned alternates for the items provided by the kit. In my case I will be using the kit items. I wouldn't know the correct details anyway.

I'm enjoying the challenge of building and feel somewhat confident that my finished ship will look good to the average observer.

Thank you. I am learning a lot. Mostly about what not to do. I'm stuck on the second planking because I started on both ends and now I can't figure out how to fix it. Aghhhh!

EJ

What an amazing job you did on this build. I am building a Corel model as well, the Sirene 1775 French frigate. It is my first build so I know I will not come anywhere close to your workmanship but following your build log is a great help. Congrats on a great accomplishment.

Haha. Nice wife. Sounds like true love. 

Try the method I posted here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/15044-plank-bending-without-soaking/

Works like a charm! 

I am wondering if anyone has a product recommendation for the hull of my ship? I know I should be looking for a matte finish, but should I try to find a varnish, poly, whatever? Should it be diluted? How many coats are typically used? Sanding in between?

The local hobby store sells Matte Varnish, but I'm not sure if it is meant for coating over a painting.

As always, any help is appreciated.

Thank you,

Vincent